Community Champions: Advocating for children in foster care
LOS ANGELES - In the holiday season where giving is on the mind, we take a look at a way to give the gift of time and compassion. CASA is a volunteer court appointed advocate program for children in foster care.
The NFL named CASA of Los Angeles a Legacy Champion tied to LA's Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in 2022.
Charity Chandler-Cole is the CEO of CASA of Los Angeles, overseeing 1300 CASA advocates. She says, "it takes about 8 weeks to go through the training. We get to go to court."
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She explains, a CASA is more than a mentor for a child in foster care. It's being legally allowed to be in the courtroom to help be a voice for that child before a judge.
This year at the non-profit's gala, an advocate of 21-years, Sam Herod, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award. Herod is retired from the world of entertainment production and says he grew up with foster children in his neighborhood. He says he still lives in South LA and runs into some of his former advocate kids, now all grown up and thankful for his guidance.
This story is in conjunction with LASEC, The LA84 Foundation, The NFL, and LA’s 2022 Super Bowl Host Committee. To see more of their Legacy Champions like CASA LA continue to watch FOX 11’s Community Champions series on Thursdays at 10 p.m. and Fridays on Fox 11 News at 5 p.m. Past series can be found on FOXLA.com.